The treatment of painful areas on the human body with electrical shock pulses is well known. The U.S. Pat. No. 1,583,087 discloses a known electrical therapeutic apparatus wherein a pad member is moistened and placed on any portion of the body and connected to an electrical circuit so that the patient will receive the desired electrical treatment. In this instance, the pad terninal comprises a metal plate and a particular type of mounting to accomodate an absorbent material used as a pad in combination with the metal plate.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,055,372 discloses a device for the electrical treatment of body tissues which includes electrically conductive rubber electrodes for producing pulsations to muscles in the human body. Pairs of pads are required to apply such pulsations which are received through the use of a variable speed motor. This prior art device is used just to improve the tone and general health of the body parts. There is no disclosure of this device being able to reduce pain and edema in the human body.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,345 discloses an electrode having a metal plate used in combination with a sponge which is used in a wet condition to apply low current electrical pulse signals to stimulate body nerves with the effect that pain and other circulatory difficulties might be relieved. This electrode has a retaining ring and a very specific interrelationship between the sponge, metal plate and retaining ring to achieve the results desired by the patentee in that instance.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,817,252 discloses another type of electrode for transcutaneous stimulation with electrical impulses. In this prior art structure, the electrode incorporates the use of a wet sponge and is particularly made to be a disposable electrode. An interface pad is made of a foam material and is expressly used to prevent the direct contact between the skin and the electrically conducting diffusor screen. Again, this type of an electrode makes use of an externally applied liquid medium to establish an electrical connection across the surface of the area being treated.
None of the prior art electrodes used to apply electrical shock pulses to the human body are satisfactory to diminish pain in joints such as the knuckles of the hand, elbow, knees, ankles, toes and the like. Particularly, people who have had operations as a result of fractures in the hand generally experience much pain. This occurs because one-fourth of all the sensory nerves in the body are located in the hands. Consequently, they are extremely sensitive. An injury to a joint in the hand can produce such pain that the patient refuses to move the body part and can lead to a condition called "causalgic" hand.
A major disadvantage associated with prior art efforts as they are applied to edematous joints of the hands is: avoidance of a dependent position or placing the body part lower than the heart, which encourages still more edema. Thus, it is necessary to elevate the body part to treat edema which occurs as a result of pain.
When tissue is traumatized, fluid rushes to that area to swell the joint to limit motion so that the person will not cause further damage. The body provides its own splinting mechanism. For example, if a thumb is hit with a hammer, it immediately swells up so that the person cannot move their thumb and injure themselves more if a bone happened to be broken. Once edema has formed in the joint, its removal is a significant problem. The current treatment is to apply ice, compression and elevation (I.C.E.). This is the accepted first aid as administered with injuries involving soft tissue trauma. The chief concern is prevention of swelling so that an appropriate examination can be performed.
Another area of need in the prior art is an improved method of treating phantom pain which occurs in conjunction with a prosthesis being worn on the stump. Currently, if someone is suffering from phantom pain, use of the prosthesis is limited. That is, treatment of the phantom pain is limited to the time when the prosthesis is not being worn. Thus, the person is not able to function during such treatment. The present treatment requires the use of a gel or lubricant which acts as an electrically conducting medium for a postage stamp size electrode which is taped in place on the stump. A transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator (TENS unit) is electrically connected to the electrode and electrical stimulation is thus applied directly to the stump. Such TENS units are very well known and readily available from numerous sources. It is about the size of a cigarette package and may be worn on the belt.
The prior art devices as discussed all require lubricant or some kind of an electrical medium to be applied to the skin for the purpose of providing an electrical shock or stimulation to the surface of the skin. One of the basic problems associated with such use of a wet lubricant is that the skin tissue becomes mottled or macerated when there is a prolonged use of the electrode in conjunction with the gel or lubricant. This problem is especially present when the prior art electrodes are used with a prosthesis which simply adds to the application of pressure on the skin area being treated.
The prior art electrodes used to apply electrical shock pulses to areas on the human body do not permit total conformity to the body part, and elevation of the injured area. Electrodes now being used to control pain and edema cover a smaller part of the involved area and offer a nonuniform impulse and associated discomfort when using higher voltages. The electrodes being used for applying electrical stimulation to body portions are either a two by two inch square plate with a sponge on it or a four by four inch type pad having a sponge conforming to a metal electrode. In both instances, the electrodes are either strapped or taped onto the body part to which the electrical stimulation is being applied. When a sponge is used it is in a wet condition in order to cause the current to be conducted to the surface of the skin. The prior art electrodes require the use of a gel or cream or some other type of lubricant so that there is no direct contact between the metal electrode itself and the surface of the skin. If the metal electrode were placed in direct contact with the skin, there would be an uncomfortable feeling of a prickly sensation or an uncomfortable electrical shock type of feeling. Known prior art electrodes are not capable of conforming to a joint such as a hand, foot, elbow, knee or the like.
In most recent developments, it has been found that the best possible way to treat a limb or joint post operatively is to have constant motion at the joint. That is, such motion has been found to enhance circulation at the joint and thereby significantly speed up the healing process. Because the prior art electrodes have to be strapped on or taped in place in such a manner that they do not conform to the joint itself, such a desirable joint motion is significantly limited. Thus, the recommended treatment of traumatized joints through the effecting of movement is severely limited.